against a wall, “is the last time you touch my wife.” His free hand smashed into Zeus’ face, and black veins spread across his skin.
Zeus let out an enraged roar, and the two exchanged blows, but it was obvious Hades had the upper hand. I gasped as my healing kicked in. Hades’ head jerked toward me at the sound, and Zeus surged forward, a flash of power emitting from his right hand in a bright blaze. Something shimmered in his left, something metal. Light fractured around it.
Voice restored, I shouted “Stop!” Quick as a thought, I teleported in front of Hades. I didn’t know what that thing was in his left hand, but every instinct screamed to me that it was dangerous.
Zeus froze, mid-slash. Shoving him into the wall, I gritted my teeth against the pain of the spike slicing into my arm.
I took his soul in my hand, and his eyes widened in shock. “I surrender.”
It didn’t matter. “Then tell me the absolute truth. No hedging, no double speak. What will you do now that you’re sworn to me? Now that you’ve surrendered?”
Zeus’ jaw tightened. “Plot every minute of the rest of my existence to put an end to you and take my powers back, you miserable little bitch.” He smiled. “I won’t have to wait long.”
“Yeah, I thought so.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re not going to kill me. You don’t have it in you.” His lips twisted in a smirk. “I know you. I’ve seen everything that goes on in that empty head of yours. You’re not strong enough.”
It didn’t take strength to kill someone. It took fear. Fear and the knowledge he would come back, that nothing and no one in my life would be safe so long as he walked the earth. I finally understood why Hades kept saying I was brave, kept claiming I was strong. He’d misinterpreted my naiveté for bravado.
His eyes turned cunning. “You’re different than the rest of us. And that’s okay. You’re…you’re…”
“A novelty?” I supplied, quoting back his earlier words.
“More than that. So much more. You don’t want to do this. You don’t want to be like us. You’re different.”
I was. And maybe I always would be. But this wasn’t just about me and what I wanted, because it wasn’t just me who would be in danger if I let him go. The other gods had given me everything they had so I would end this. Mom had died for this. Her realm was my responsibility now, as much as the Underworld. Maybe this would make me a monster, but everyone has to grow up sometime.
I looked Zeus straight in the eye. “Drop dead.”
The spike clattered to the floor, and the rest of Zeus’ power slammed into me. Hades snatched the spike, swearing as recognition dawned in his eyes.
I stumbled backward, clutching at my arm. The pain from the scratch lanced up to my elbow, spreading like wildfire. Hades steadied me, and I felt a pulse of power pass through me.
My heart stopped beating. I gasped, sinking to my knees. Hades held onto me, lowering me to the floor. He grabbed my arm just above the elbow. “Where does it hurt?” When I didn’t answer right away, he shouted the question over and over again in my face, panic evident in his eyes.
“Elbow.” Though the pain was creeping higher.
“Okay.” He nodded like he’d just made some decision. “Okay, it’ll grow back.”
Grow back? What the hell was he talking about, grow back?
I followed his train of thought and shook my head, trying desperately to scramble out of his iron grip. No, stop!
His hand tightened around my upper arm like a vise. Agony spread from my fingers, and my screams echoed from the rafters. Hades’ other hand went to my forehead, and then blissful darkness washed over me.
Chapter XLVII
Hades
I teleported to Demeter’s backyard, then to the throne room in the Underworld. Persephone hung limp in my arms, face drained of all color. Her dress was saturated with blood.
“Take her!” I demanded to a startled Charon. He opened his mouth, no doubt about to ask what happened. I didn’t give him the chance. Depositing Persephone into his arms, I teleported back to Zeus’ palace, grabbed the Olympian Dagger, and teleported to Demeter’s living room.
There were gasps and exclamations of surprise from the gods, and for a second I wondered what I must look like. I was no doubt covered in her blood. But before they could bombard me with questions, I grabbed Hephaestus by the shirt